Samuel Goldman, a beloved journalism teacher at San Bruno's Skyline College and the first sports information director for the West Coast Conference, died Tuesday. He was 87.

"He was always a reporter in everything that he did," said his daughter, Julie Goldman. "Every person that he met had a special history that he wanted to know, and everything was a story that he wanted to tell."

Mr. Goldman's influence on the field of journalism in San Francisco can best be described with the one word he taught his students never to use: unique.

"Ye wildest journalism teacher and PR man in the West," as he called himself, began teaching English and history at Galileo High School in 1958. In 1963, he became an English and history teacher and adviser to the newspaper at Crestmoor High School in San Bruno.

Mr. Goldman became a journalism teacher at Skyline College when it opened in 1969. His passion for the field was contagious and inspired many students. He even recruited some.

"When I was 17, Mr. Goldman came to my high school and recruited me into journalism," said his former student, Mark Katches, editorial director for the Center for Investigative Reporting. "It's something you only think of with sports - but he was the first person to take any interest in me, and many others, as a journalist."

Perhaps it was his love for athletics that led Mr. Goldman to recruit students. He was a sports correspondent for The Chronicle from 1957 to 1973. And, throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, he served part time as the sports information director for Skyline and San Francisco State and was the first sports information director for what became known as the West Coast Conference.

For decades, he imbued Bay Area press boxes with his lively personality, extreme warmth and butterscotch candies. Mr. Goldman worked tirelessly to promote and publicize the WCC during its infancy and even after his official retirement in 1989.

The conference later established an award in his name, "presented to a media member who provides outstanding coverage while embodying service and journalistic excellence."

He was inducted into the Skyline College Hall of Fame in 1987, San Francisco State Gator Hall of Fame in 1993, and the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame in 1994, and he received the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.

He studied journalism at Mission High School in San Francisco, where he was the sports editor for the school newspaper. He served in the Navy for two years, received his bachelor's degree in journalism from San Jose State University in 1950, and, in 1960, his master's in history and education from San Francisco State.

"My father would tell everyone that he wouldn't have been able to accomplish all what he had done if it had not been for the love and support from his lovely wife, Adele," said Julie. "This is the essence of my father - that he was devoted to and cherished his family, and therefore was able to share his passion for life with friends, colleagues and students."

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Eternal Home Cemetery, 1051 El Camino Real, Colma.